Friday, 27 September 2013

Well one is a building information modelling platform, another a space data management tool, STRATUS is a private BIM Cloud and the last is a famous rapper - so nothing obvious that's for sure!

The CodeBook User Group has recently been trialling Revit + CodeBook in the Cloud, using the STRATUS Private BIM Cloud as a platform. What that means precisely is that the Revit and CodeBook software is installed on a cloud server, which is accessed remotely through your internet browser using a secure login and password.

So the applications are running in the cloud, not from your PC, think of it like STRATUS providing you with a tunnel to their server and window to view the server desktop, or perhaps more importantly the software.

The Revit model and CodeBook database are co-located (i.e. saved on the same cloud server), making both perform very efficiently. Typically most firms use a LAN or WAN, which regardless of the spec or amount of money spent on infrastructure, will be subject to latency - i.e. a time lag.

This time delay is caused by the volume of traffic passing through (i.e. your colleagues working), routers, switches etc... I've even known underfloor cabling to get damaged by rats chewing through them, resulting in slow network performance!

Running RAM, processor and data hungry applications like Revit + CodeBook from the cloud makes a lot of sense. The spec of a server can be modified quite easily and "throttled" to provide specific users with a higher spec, or provide extra RAM during intensive periods leading up to a deadline - that's the power of cloud based resources.

Removing the LAN or WAN from the equation also offers performance gains, the model doesn't have to be copied across the network to your PC when first opened - it's there on the same machine as the applications. When synching with the central model etc... the distance the communication or changes have to travel is greatly reduced and is subject to fewer human or environmental conditions.

So this all sounds great Chris, but what happens if my internet connection is slow or worst still drops off? A good internet connection and graphics card certainly helps, but should your connection be interrupted all you need to do is log back in and you'll be taken back to where you left off.

For more information on STRATUS visit their website - http://stratus.net.nz/ - and if you have any questions, or to arrange your own trial contact Des or one of his team and they will be happy to help.

The next CBUG is on Tuesday 1st October and Danielle, Adam and I will be collaborating to give a live demo of several cool features - Room Tasks, Flex Reports and C-sheet generation - all from the cloud!

Oh and back to the original question about Snoop Dog... he provided the background music to this sneak preview video of CB+Revit on STRATUS and may be making a guest appearance at the next user group session.

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About Me

Chris joined HASSELL in May 2011 to strengthen and lead their CodeBook efforts for BIM projects, also to help develop their 4,5+6D services.
Prior to joining HASSELL, he spent several years in S.E.Asia working in architectural outsourcing, managing interior architecture projects. In the UK he worked for HOK and Anshen+Allen on several major, award winning projects.